The AIDS epidemic is one of the more challenging problems in medicine in the 21st century (United Nations. 2004 Report on the global HIV/AIDS Epidemic: 4th global report. New York, U.S.A., 2004). The disclosure of the foregoing is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. In addition, the entirety of the disclosures of each of the publications cited herein are also incorporated herein by reference. A retrovirus designated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the etiological agent of the complex disease that includes progressive destruction of the immune system (acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS) and degeneration of the central and peripheral nervous system. This virus was previously known as LAV, HTLV-III, or ARV. A common feature of retrovirus replication is the extensive post-translational processing of precursor polyproteins by a vitally encoded protease to generate mature vital proteins required for virus assembly and function. Inhibition of this processing prevents the production of normally infectious virus. For example, Kohl, N. E. et al., Proc Nat'l Acad Sci 85:4686 (1988) demonstrated that genetic inactivation of the HIV encoded protease resulted in the production of immature, non-infectious virus particles. These results indicate that inhibition of the HIV protease represents a viable method for the treatment of AIDS and the prevention or treatment of infection by HIV.